Many feel that drying a car is the most critical step in the car washing process. Drying can either be effected via evaporation with blowers or mechanical removal, such as towels or pliable wiper blades.
Large, industrial air blowers are often used in automated car washes and the like. More discerning car owners eschew automated carwashes for hand washing, and may use hand held air blowers, which are typically difficult because they are cumbersome, awkward, and rather heavy to hold for the time it takes to dry a car body. Furthermore, power cords can get in the way while working on an automobile surface, and cause scratches and other damage as well. In addition, electricity and or battery costs may be a deterrent to those having to wash multiple automobiles such as would be the case with a car dealership, etc.
Typical mechanical methods are similarly flawed. Towels, for example, become saturated quickly and leave streaks. Additionally, towels trap dirt and can result in scratches in the vehicle's finish. Blades do not rely on absorbing the water and, as such, do not leave streaks. However, due to the convoluted shapes of most vehicles, typical blades do not conform to the surface of the vehicle.
What is clearly needed is a method and apparatus for removing standing water from surfaces that is easily used with the compound and radical curvature of automobile bodies, and around rivet heads and other projections from surfaces to be dried, and is at the same time gentle to surface finishes, easy to use, inexpensive, and durable. Several examples of attempts to respond to those needs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,363,678; 7,134,163; 6,243,911; 6,126,756; and 5,920,947, the contents of which are each hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. However, these attempts still raise questions in connection with ease of use, expense and durability, to name a few. And it is to these objects and others that the present invention is dedicated, and apparatus and methods are taught herein in enabling detail for accomplishing these ends.